The Church3.0 Podcast

Pastor Zac Stephens from Faith Promise Church in Knoxville, Tennessee joins the Church3.0 Podcast to address the crisis of personal evangelism in the modern church. Discover how Faith Promise built a Win Your World culture where more people are equipped for ministry daily than die in America, leveraging digital discipleship and the Win Network to move every believer one step closer to Christ.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode:

• The four identity barriers that stop church members from sharing their faith.
• How to implement monthly staff accountability around personal evangelism.
• What is the Win Network and how it equips the next generation of believers.
• How to use digital discipleship tools to track personal evangelism and answered prayers.
• Why focus on fifteen to twenty-five year olds to protect the future of the local church.
• How can churches build a culture of personal evangelism?
• Why is personal evangelism declining in modern ministry?

🔗 Learn more about Apollos: https://apollos.com/church-growth
🔗 Connect with Zac Stephens: https://www.instagram.com/thezacstephens/

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#Church3Point0 #ApollosPodcast #PersonalEvangelism #ChurchLeadership #DigitalMinistry

Is your local church faithful, passionate, and offering high-quality ministry—yet struggling to grow? On this episode of the Church3.0 Podcast, host Tyler Vance sits down with Justin Brackett, Founder and President of digifora, to discuss why "visibility beats ability" in modern church growth.

They dive into the shift from assumed trust to earned engagement, how to leverage digital strategy (including YouTube and AI learning models), and why churches must prioritize authentic connection long before someone steps into a physical building.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why high-quality ministry alone won't grow your church if you have a visibility problem.
• The generational shift in trust and how local churches can earn back authentic connection.
• How to transition from physical-first attendance to digital-first engagement.
• Why churches need to proactively inform AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) about their mission.
• Practical advice for church leaders on taking strategic risks to reach the next generation.

🔗 Learn more about Apollos: https://apollos.com/church-growth
🔗 Connect with Justin Brackett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justintbrackett/

Subscribe for more church leadership insights, digital ministry strategies, and faith + technology conversations.

#Church3Point0 #ApollosPodcast #DigitalMinistry #ChurchGrowth #ChurchLeadership

Justin Reimer of Vivid Church shares why measuring church health through fun, love, and truth builds sustainable urban ministry and why sending capacity matters far more than seating capacity.

What if the key to sustainable church health has nothing to do with attendance figures or venue size? In this episode of The Church3.0, host Tyler Vance sits down with Justin Reimer, lead pastor and co-founder of Vivid Church. Drawing from over 25 years of ministry experience, Justin shares why he and his wife Jennifer chose to plant in major urban centers like Vancouver, Toronto, and Italy using a non-traditional model centered on prayer, authentic community, and joy.

Justin unpacks the three core metrics Vivid Church uses to gauge health: fun, love, and truth. He explains why treating pastoral leadership like event planning causes severe burnout, why sending capacity should always take priority over seating capacity, and how walking every street in a city prepped his heart for long-term urban church planting.

What You’ll Learn:
🚀 Why sending capacity matters far more than building seating capacity

❤️ How to measure church health using metrics like fun, love, and truth

🚶‍♂️ What happens when you walk and pray through an entire city before launching

🌱 How church leaders can avoid artificial growth strategies

🎟️ How to build a church culture rooted in hope and hustle

😊 Why joy is essential for sustaining long-term ministry

🔗 Learn more about Apollos: https://apollos.com/church-growth
🔗 Connect with Justin Reimer: https://www.instagram.com/justinreimer/

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#Church3Point0 #ApollosPodcast #ChurchPlanting #ChurchLeadership #MinistryGrowth

Warren Bird has spent more than two decades researching America's largest churches and has authored or co-authored 35 books on church leadership. In this conversation with Tyler Vance, Warren unpacks the new Mega Church Resurgence study, a survey repeated every five years since 2000, and explains why growth today looks different than before the pandemic. Church leaders will walk away with a clearer picture of what is actually driving attendance, generosity, and discipleship in America's largest congregations.

What You’ll Learn:
- Why is "resurgence" the right word for what is happening in large churches today, rather than simple rebuilding
- Are megachurches really a baby boomer trend that is about to fade?
- How did small groups become the top discipleship priority for 94 percent of large churches
- What explains the gap between small group intent and actual participation?
- Why large churches can innovate faster than smaller churches after the pandemic
- How leadership residencies are training the next generation of pastors
- Is online giving outpacing attendance growth in America's largest churches?

🔗 Learn more about Apollos: https://apollos.com/church-growth
🔗 Connect with Warren Bird: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wbird/

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#Church3Point0 #ApollosPodcast #MegachurchGrowth #ChurchLeadership #SmallGroups

Mark MacDonald reveals how church branding strategy shifts your messaging from internal noise to external clarity that reaches your community.

In this episode of Church3.0, Mark MacDonald, founder of Be Known for Something, joins host Tyler Vance to discuss why churches do not need more noise, they need more clarity. They unpack why sameness is your biggest competition, how Google puts every local church on the same virtual street, and why leading with felt needs is the front door to true spiritual transformation.

What You'll Learn:

• Why sameness is a local church's biggest competition on Google Street
• How to transition from internal kitchen language to clear external communication
• What is the best framework for church messaging and community reach?
• Why leading with felt needs creates the front door to spiritual transformation
• How to define a custom polygon reach area using CHMS database mapping
• Why throwaway header copy like everyone is welcome hurts website conversion

🔗 Learn more about Apollos: https://apollos.com/church-growth
🔗 Connect with Mark MacDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beknownforsomething/

Subscribe for more church leadership insights, digital ministry strategies, and faith + technology conversations.

#Church3Point0 #ApollosPodcast #ChurchBranding #DigitalMinistry #ChurchGrowth

What does discipleship look like beyond Sunday mornings? In this episode of Church3.0, Alan George shares why the future of the local church may depend less on programs and more on relational discipleship, everyday faith, and communities that truly know and love one another.

As a leader at BattleCreek Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Alan George has spent years helping churches navigate digital ministry, organizational scale, leadership, and innovation. In this conversation, Alan George explores what he learned from pastors in Egypt, why discipleship must move beyond strategy, and how churches can cultivate rhythms that resemble the life of Jesus.

Tyler and Alan George dig into leadership, digital ministry, and the tension between organizational scale and relational discipleship. It's an honest, unscripted conversation about Sabbath, prayer, parenting in the faith, and why the local church's real work happens far beyond the Sunday service.

What You’ll Learn:
👥 Communal Relational Discipleship: Discover why Alan George believes authentic discipleship is born out of daily relationship rather than institutional strategy.
⏳ The Rhythm of Jesus: Learn to embrace holy interruptions in your leadership calendar instead of over-scheduling for maximum efficiency.
👁️ Vision vs. Mission: Unpack insights from Dallas Willard and Isaiah 6 on keeping your eyes on God rather than getting lost in ministry execution.
🙏 The Power of Digital Prayer: Find out how the Apollos app features help make mega churches feel small by humanizing local communities.
🏡 Faith at the Dinner Table: What is communal relational discipleship, and how can we successfully bring everyday faith expression back into our neighborhoods?
🌍 Global Ministry Perspectives: Hear inspiring stories from Alan George’s recent journey to a pastors conference in Egypt and the Middle East.

🔗 Learn more about Apollos: https://apollos.com/church-growth
🔗 Connect with Alan George: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanvgeorge/

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#AlanGeorge #BattleCreekChurch #Discipleship #ChurchLeadership #FaithAndTechnology #DigitalMinistry #ApollosPodcast #Church3Point0 #Tulsa #ChristianLeadership

What does it take for the Church to lead culture again instead of following it? Justin Dean joins Church3.0 to unpack the future of church leadership, AI, digital ministry, and innovation in a rapidly changing world.

Justin Dean is a marketing strategist, entrepreneur, fractional CMO, and former communications leader at Mars Hill Church and Tithe.ly. In this conversation, Justin Dean shares lessons from scaling large ministries, navigating church growth, leveraging AI, and helping churches think differently about technology, discipleship, and community.

As AI reshapes search, content creation, and digital engagement, Justin Dean challenges churches to move from being consumers of culture to creators of culture—and to lead the conversation around technology with wisdom, creativity, and mission.

What You’ll Learn

🚀 Justin Dean's leadership journey from corporate marketing into church ministry

🤖 AI for churches: How artificial intelligence is changing ministry strategy

📈 Church growth systems: Why scale exposes culture, leadership, and process gaps

🎯 Church marketing strategies: Moving beyond content distribution toward connection

🏛️ Mars Hill lessons: Insights on leadership, growth, and organizational complexity

🌐 Digital ministry innovation: How churches can lead instead of lag behind technology

🤝 Hospitality and discipleship: Why community remains the Church's greatest opportunity

🔗 Learn more about Apollos: https://apollos.com/church-growth
🔗 Connect with Justin Dean: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinjdean/

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#JustinDean #ChurchLeadership #DigitalMinistry #FaithAndTechnology #ArtificialIntelligence #ChurchInnovation #ChurchGrowth #ChristianLeadership #ApollosPodcast #Church3Point0 #ChurchCommunications #Discipleship

How do you transition from a broadcast news career to leading one of the most innovative digital church departments in the country? In this episode, Lauren Bercarich shares her journey of building a unified digital team at Liquid Church and the strategic shifts required to prioritize digital ministry in a post-pandemic world.

Lauren Bercarich discusses the vital importance of breaking down organizational silos and why "leading up" to senior leadership is the key to unlocking digital growth. You’ll learn how Liquid Church integrated their app, website, and pastoral care to create a seamless hybrid experience that has facilitated over 1.7 million prayers.

What You’ll Learn:
📈 Organizational Strategy: How Lauren Bercarich restructured IT and communications to create a unified digital products team.
🤝 Leadership Alignment: The secret to "leading up" and building trust with senior leaders like Tim Lucas.
📱 Digital Engagement: Why Liquid Church prioritizes digital prayer and scripture engagement over mere viewership metrics.
⛪ Hybrid Assimilation: How to build a "Digital Front Door" that leads to physical church community and leadership pipelines.
⚖️ Work-Life Integration: Honest insights on balancing high-level ministry leadership with the calling of being a parent.

🔗 Learn more about Apollos: https://apollos.com/church-growth
🔗 Connect with Lauren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenbercarich/

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In this episode, digital ministry Nils Smith joins us to discuss the fine line between healthy innovation and stagnant tradition. As the VP of Marketing for Faith Driven Entrepreneur, Nils shares why "we've always done it this way" is the most dangerous phrase in leadership and how to reclaim your organization's "why."

Together, we explore how faith-driven innovation can help the Church stay effective, relevant, and mission-focused in a world shaped by platforms, algorithms, and AI.

What You’ll Learn:
📉 Why churches lose innovation when they say “we’ve always done it this way” (Nils Smith insight)
🧠 How Nils Smith applies “first principles thinking” to church leadership
📱 Why Nils Smith says not every church should build an app
🌐 The difference between rented vs owned digital platforms in ministry
🔁 Why returning to the “good old days” can limit church growth
📊 How data and user-generated content transform discipleship strategy
🚀 Why Faith Driven Entrepreneur is mobilizing a global movement of entrepreneurs

🔗 Learn more about Apollos: https://apollos.com/church-growth
🔗 Connect with Nils Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilssmith/

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#NilsSmith #FaithDrivenEntrepreneur #Church3Point0 #ApollosPodcast #DigitalMinistry #ChurchLeadership #FaithAndTechnology #Innovation #ChurchGrowth #RedemptiveLeadership #KingdomBusiness #FirstPrinciples

How should churches think about AI, digital ministry, and human connection in 2026? In this Inside Track episode of Church3.0, Tyler sits down with Conrad VanLandingham, Chief Product Officer at Apollos, to explore how AI is transforming church technology, product design, and spiritual engagement.

Conrad VanLandingham shares how Apollos is reimagining digital ministry tools for the future of the Church — from AI-powered software development to creating meaningful community experiences that help people move from spiritual curiosity to spiritual habits. Whether you lead a church, build technology, or care about the future of faith and innovation, this conversation offers practical insights into how thoughtful product strategy can deepen human connection.

Churches today face a growing challenge: how do you create authentic community in an increasingly disconnected world? Conrad VanLandingham explains why Apollos focuses less on “widgets” and more on outcomes — helping people pray together, become known, and build life-changing community through digital experiences designed with intention.

What You’ll Learn

🚀 Conrad VanLandingham on AI and church technology — how AI is accelerating product development in ministry

🧠 Product taste and decision-making — why asking “why?” matters more than ever in AI-driven software

📱 Digital ministry strategy at Apollos — designing church apps for spiritual growth and connection

🙏 Prayer and community engagement — how churches are using Apollos to deepen relationships

🔥 Faith and technology innovation — the future of church software in 2026

👥 How churches help people move from zero to one spiritually through intentional design

🌎 Church leadership and community building in Dallas, Texas, Oklahoma, and beyond

🔗 Learn more about Apollos: https://apollos.com/church-growth 

🔗 Connect with Conrad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conradvanl/

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#ConradVanLandingham #ApollosPodcast #Church3Point0 #FaithAndTechnology #DigitalMinistry #ChurchLeadership #AIInMinistry #ChurchInnovation #PrayerEngagement #ChristianLeadership #ChurchTech #Apollos